CALAIS, Maine — Calais is one of 37 communities nationwide to receive a slice of a $112 million pie aimed at improving rural water and wastewater services.
“We are very happy,” Calais City Manager Jim Porter said Wednesday after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the city will receive a $1.3 million Water and Waste Disposal Grant and a $500,000 loan.
The loan is low interest, though Porter did not know the exact rate. The money will be used to help fund a $3 million project, which involves replacing two sewer pump stations that are 45 years old and replacing 3,600 feet of existing clay tile sewer pipes.
These upgrades will result in reduced runoff and less infiltration of groundwater into the sewer system, according to a USDA Rural Development press release.
The improvements also will reduce costs to treat unnecessary flow and help to avoid untreated sewer overflows into the St. Croix River.
The city’s wastewater system has had difficulties complying with environmental regulations.
“We should be able to make improvements on the sewer system to meet the DEP and EPA standards,” Porter said, adding the improvements also will help to keep sewer rates stable for the city’s approximately 1,100 sewer customers.
Work probably will begin next year.
“We still haven’t gotten it completely designed,” Porter said.
“I am pleased that on this Earth Day 2015, USDA Rural Development can have a substantial positive impact on the environment of the rural Down East community of Calais through investing in these critical upgrades,” USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel said in Wednesday’s press release. “This rural development funding will play a significant role in protecting the historic St. Croix River that we share with our Canadian neighbors and preserve its watershed for recreation and fishing which also supports the area’s active tourism economy.”
The St. Croix River is 71 miles long and drains into a watershed of 1,500 square miles. The river and its watershed support populations of Atlantic salmon, smallmouth bass and bald eagles that make these marshlands their home, according to the USDA release.
USDA is providing the funding for water and wastewater infrastructure projects through Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program.
In addition to the 37 communities to receive funding, Greater Portland Council of Governments was one of 25 communities to receive an Energy Audit and Rural Energy Development Assistance Grant. The Greater Portland organization received $100,000.